This invention relates generally to tape transports, and more particularly to said transports wherein air or gas is utilized to feed tape along a channel between tape supply and take-up reels.
Simplification of tape transmitting, loading and threading, between rotating supply and take-up reels is an important objective in the design, construction and operation of magnetic tape transports. This is critical as respects high speed initial threading of the tape lead-end, via a complex tape path, between said reels; and in the past, cumbersome and sometimes unreliable mechanical means were utilized to achieve such threading and transport. There is great need for simple, reliable and simple, inexpensive apparatus to achieve tape threading and transport; and there is need to achieve tape threading at high tape speeds, with simplicity (i.e. without moving transport elements, such as guides, pins, etc.) of the loading mechanism and of the transport mechanism. cl SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a major object of the invention to provide improved apparatus meeting the above needs.
Such apparatus, in accordance with the invention, includes:
(a) a deck, and magnetic tape supply and take-up reels associated with the deck for rotation to transport magnetic tape along a predetermined path therebetween,
(b) rotary head or rotary head drums (i.e. read/write means), such as magnetic heads, mounted in rotating cylindrical assembly, disposed along said paths and associated with the deck,
(c) a rotary capstan carried by the deck to engage and advance the tape along said path,
(d) there being an air flow channel along said path for channeling air to flow adjacent the tape and to the take-up reel to assist tape travel to said take-up reel.
It is a further object to provide a rotary shaft to support and rotate the take-up reel, said shaft being ported to receive and discharge air flow from the channel. Such a take-up reel typically has a tape winding surface with at least one air passing perforation to pass said air flow to a port defined by the shaft; and a blower has its suction side connected in air flow receiving relation with said port defined by the shaft.
Another object is to provide a chamber on the deck that receives the supply reel for rotation therein, there being an air entry port to said chamber and in which air flows past the periphery of the supply reel to said channel. As will be seen, the air entry port is located to pass said air flow past the free end of tape on the supply reel to urge said free end into said channel, as the supply reel rotates.
An additional object involves the provision of a chamber on the deck that receives the take-up reel for rotation therein, as by a rotary shaft, and there being an air discharge port from said chamber and via which air flows across or through the periphery of the take-up reel to discharge from said chamber
Further objects include provision of a cartridge associated with said deck, the supply reel located in said cartridge to advance tape from the cartridge into the channel in the deck; and provision of a rotary head drum having fixed and rotating cylindrical surfaces along which the tape travels in a helical path as the tape travels along said path. This allows tape travel between two spaced planes. In this regard, the two reels may be in two different planes, and they may be co-axial, or out of axial alignment.
The invention finds especially advantageous use in video or rotary head apparatus.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention, as well as the details of an illustrative embodiment, will be more fully understood from the following specification and drawings, in which: